Buddha family
buddha family (Skt. tathāgatakula; T. de bzhin gshegs pa'i rigs དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་རིགས་), or "tathāgata family" is one of the "five families" (pañcakula), according to Buddhist tantra.
In the Kriyā tantras this family has a dual definition: it is either the all-inclusive family that incorporates also the Vajra, the Lotus, the Jewel, and the other families, or it is the Tathāgata family proper, where belong the deified buddha Śakyamuni, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, and other deities.[1]
In the higher tantras, depending on the system, this family is presided over by either the tathāgata Vairocana or the tathāgata Akṣobhya.[1] In this context, the Buddha family represents the enlightened body, and is associated with the wisdom of dharmadhātu.[2]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་རིགས་, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
- ↑ Thinley Norbu 2016, Chapter 9. Aspects of Buddhahood.
Sources
Thinley Norbu (2016), Echoes: The Boudhanath Teachings, translated by William Koblensky, Boston: Shambhala
External links
Buddha family, Rigpa Shedra Wiki